FragPunk – the chaotic, neon-splurged hero shooter from NetEease – has sorted out the “unexpected technical challenges” it ran into earlier this year while trying to get the console version out the door. As such, it’s finally coming to Xbox Series X/S and PS5 on 29th April.
FragPunk’s 5v5 (and free-to-play) shooting action ticks plenty of familiar genre boxes as its 12 distinct Lancer “heroes” hit the battlefield, but it’s all made spicier thanks to its card-based modifier system – which sees teams pooling their earned chips at the start of a match to decide which of three possible options they want to inflict on everyone this turn.
Choices are pulled form a pool of over 150 Shard Cards, meaning rules can be twisted in sometimes dramatic ways. You might decide to give everyone massive heads, for instance, or remove all guns from play. Or you might choose a card that lets allies lay eggs to restore health or that teleports enemies back to their spawn point after taking damage.
It’s got its fair share of issues, as Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell recently opined after playing FragPunk for a while, but its match-weirdening gimmick is a good one. “For someone who’s always found this genre just a little too self-serious,” Chris wrote, “this stuff is perfection… all the less desirable stuff from this genre, the toxicity and the almost excessive levels of tension, are quite easily defused when the thing people are shrieking about is called ‘Mass Crab Walk’. In playing a highly moreish few hours of it this week, I’ve had a blast.”
FragPunk was originally supposed to launch for Xbox and PlayStation early last month, at the same time as PC version. However, NetEase opted for a last-minute console delay, blaming “unexpected technical challenges”. Now, though, in a short message shared on social media, the company has confirmed a 29th April release for FragPunk on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, thanking players for their “continuing patience and unwavering support.”
It’s also promising non-specific “gifts” to console players “as a token of our gratitude and to make up for the delay”. These will be sent to all newly registered console game accounts and include time-limited event rewards from the start of Season 1 up to 29th April. “A detailed list of all above mentioned rewards and their distribution methods,” it adds, “will be shared in a separate announcement before launch.”